Humler was in town for the ground-breaking ceremony for the 205-room resort, which has been in the planning stages for 15 years.

The luxury resort will sit in the shadow of Camelback Mountain, which Humler has some not-so-fond memories of hiking 25 years ago.

"I will never forget how painful it was,'' he said.

Humler, a founding partner of Ritz-Carlton, sat down with Arizona Republic and azcentral.com travel reporter Dawn Gilbertson for a quick sound-off on a few travel topics. Comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Biggest hotel pet peeve: "I don't want to stand in line to check in. I don't want to stand in line to check out."

Name something that won't be in a hotel room in five years: "Many hotels have an ironing board and iron. We are in a business to deliver service. That's something that will be totally out. If you have a shirt, I can press it in five minutes. If you want it dry cleaned, you can have it in three hours."

Defending the dreaded resort fee (which is $50 a night at the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain near Tucson and prevalent at resorts around the country): "You have to deliver on it. There's no resistance if there's value to it. I can leave this hotel (the Phoenician) and go shopping (nearby with complimentary local transportation). You don't have to call Uber. You have kids? There are Ritz Kids Kits. You don't have to pay for it. And so on."

Technology trends: "Ritz-Carlton is testing programs where travelers are greeted via mobile device when they land, told how long it will take them to get to their hotel and asked whether they would like to order room service. You arrive at the hotel at 11 o'clock at night, you don't want to wait another hour (for food). As soon as you arrive, the food will be ready for you.''

Favorite vacation spot in the world: "Bar Harbor, Maine. My wife is from Maine. We have an old house ... just right next to the water. I like to go boating. It's casual, nice people, great food, great seafood, safe for all the kids. You never lock your doors."